Apparatus for the manufacture or treatment of textile materials



H. DREYFUS 2,123,235 FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF TEXTILEMATERIALS I July 12, 1938.

AIPPARATUS Filed June}, 1936 HENRY DREYFUS //WEN7OR v f ,MW

ATTORNEYS Patented July-12,1938 I I v A UNITED STATES PATENT orricsAPPARATUS won me mmrmcruan on murmur or TEXTILE MATERIALS new Dreyfus,London, England Application June a, 1936, Serial No. 83,272

In Great Britain June 12, 1935 1 Claims. (01. 117-2) This inventionrelates to apparatus for the thread members is in a wet condition. Partor manufacture or treatment or filaments, threads, all of the connectingmember and/or the thread yarns and the like, and particularly crepe andmember advantageously have walls of a metal, other threads containingfilaments of cellulose h r x mp 8 099B brass; which 18 0f 5 acetate.good conductivity. For example the connecting 5 U. 8. Patents Nos.2,088,587 and 2,088,628 demember may put a Ions tube of narrow borscribe a new process for the production of crlil e the connecting memberd/0r the ad threads of cellulose acetate filaments by which member maybe provided with cooling fins or there may be obtained crepe effects ofexcelribs, or both these features may be employed.

n lence hitherto unattained by such materials. The I have found that thebest results are obprocess comprises subjecting the threads to thetained by providing a pressure drop between each action of steam, underconditions such that thread member and the common steam chamber moistureis present, during the application of and by maintaining a sufllcientpressure in the the crepe twist, as by applying steam, under the steamchamber or by employing a steam chamsaid conditions, to the travellingthread over at her of sufliciently large-:diameter to permit the 15least a portion of that part oi its track in which passage of steamlargely in excess or the retwisting actually takes place. The processenables quirernents of the thread members connected to cellulose'acetatecrepe threads to be produced the steam chamber. which have an averagestrength very much The pressuredrop may be brought about by greater thanthat of cellulose acetate crepe any convenient means. Thus, for example,tubes 20 threads produced by a simple twisting operation of the samedimensions and of small cross-secwitholit steaming during twisting,characteristic time may be inserted in each connection, or a conoi thnew process. Further, apart from the strictlon may be made in eachconnection, the great advantage that the resulting in passage leftthrough the constric having t e fabric made therefrom is strot: the samedimensions in each connection. Advan- 25 operation itself is greatlyfacilitated in that eously. however, the pressure drop is capabletwisting may be accomplished satisiactorily of adjustment by theoperator. One method of under conditions of twist and spindle s which,securing a pressure drop capable oi adjustment in the absence of thesteaming step, would give is to insert in each connection a similardiato 'rise to frequent thread breakage. phr constituted by a plate ofstandard thick- The subjection of the thread to the action oi nesspierced by holes of varioussizes. A change I the steam may be carriedout in operations in in the pre drop is obtained by movement of whichthe crepe twist is applied in more than the diap w u by the operator sothat the steam one'stage, the steam being applied at least in the ispassed through a larger or smaller hole in the stage in which there isapplied the final amount diaphragm. A further method oi ob :w 1 it a oftwist necessary to impart the crepe property pressure drop which can beadjusted by the to the thread. operator is to insert a needle valve ineach con- 1 have found that apparatus which may be emnection. When aperforated diaphragm, valve ployed' for steaming travelling filaments,threads, or other form of constriction is used it should be 40 yarns andthe'like advantageously consists oil a spaced apart from the threadmember and adin steam chamber, a hollow member, hereinafter vantageouslyis adjacent to the steam chamber. referred to as the thread member,through which The steam chamber may be of any convenient the thread tobe steamed may be passed and dimensions sufllcient to ensure-an adequatesuphaving an inlet and outlet for the thread, and ply of steam toeach ofthe connections to the a member connecting the st ii I": chamber to thethread members, steam being admitted at one or 45 thread member, andaiiordlng passage to steam both ends of the chamber and/or at one ormore from the steam chamber to the thread member. points alongitslength. In general pressures of In general a plurality of thread memberswill be it or 1 'up to 5, 10, 15 or even 30 lbs. per square suppliedwith steam by acommon steam chamber, inch or more may be maintained inthe steam the threads to he steamed being passed through chamber duringoperation. Where the chamber 50 the thread members while steam is beingpassed is small, higher pressures may be employed than into thesemembers. y when the chamber is large. For instance. pres- Prelerably theconnecting member and/or the sures of 5 to 30 lbs. per square inch maybe thread member have sumcient surface exposed employed with a steamchamber consisting of a to the atmosphere to ensure that the steam inthe pipe having an internal diameter of it". 55

The thread members are preferably of small circular cross-section (e. g.of from to inch internal diameter) and made of a metal, such for exampleas copper or brass, which is of good conductivity.

The length of passage of the thread through the steam depends upon theduration of the steaming treatment required. For example, where thethread passes'at'a speed of about 2 metres per minute, a three-inchpassage through the steam has been found to give satisfactory results.Lengthier treatments may, however, be employed, as for example bypassing the thread at the said speed through six to twelve inches ofsteam or more. The thread member provided for the passage of the threadis therefore of sufficient length to give the required period oftreatment. To give the same period of treatment with high speeds thelength of the passage is proportionately greater. Where the inlet oroutlet openings are in the bottom of the thread member, the opening mayhave a wall or rim projecting into the member so as to prevent watercollecting in the member escaping by this opening. A suitable drain maybe provided to lead this water from the thread member. 7

Condensation of the steam. in the connections and in the thread membersensures that moisture is present. This is an important feature of thenew apparatus, which thus overcomes difficulties due to the tendency ofthe steam to become superheated by expansion from a higher to a lowerpressure. At the same time the convenience of using a comparatively highsupply pressure is retained. The steam chamber itself may, however, belagged to minimize condensation otherwise than in the connecting andthread members.

One construction of the apparatus of the invention, when fitted on atwisting machine comprising a plurality of fairly closely spacedtwisting spindles, comprises a steam-pipe of say or /3" internal boreextending over the length occupied by a number of spindles and connectedby copper pipes of small diameter e. g. each fitted with a needle valve,to a series of narrow vertical pipes open at each end, and set in such aposition above each spindle that the threadsfrom the spindles areconveniently passed through A of the steam pipe and each connectingpipe.

When in operation, each thread member is disposed on a twisting machineat a suitable point in the track of a thread from a twisting spindle tothe winding device. For example, each member may be disposed so that theinlet opening for a thread is substantially in line with a vertical.

twisting spindle. If desired, the said inlet opening may actually formtheguide usually disposed above the spindle to receive the thread drawnover the end of the package rotating with the spindle. 'I'hus thetwisting device may be of the kind in which a device is provided torestrict the ballooning of the thread, for example a flyer or otherfloating ring device as described in Patent No. 1,784,581. The threadmay, therefore, proceed direct from the flyer or floating ring device orfrom the surface of the package direct to the inlet opening of thethread member, provided such opening is disposed substantially in linewith the twisting spindle at a-suitable distance from the spindle.

There may, however, be an additional guide disposed between the threadmember and the top of the spindle, in which case the thread may enterthe thread member at a distance of, say to 3 inches, e. g. 1 to 2inches, from the said fixed guide. Preferably the twisted threadproceeds directly from the outlet opening of the thread member to thetraverse guide of the take-up device. Therefore, with the thread memberdisposed so that its inlet opening forms a fixed guide above thetwisting spindle and its outlet opening arranged to conduct the threaddirect to the traverse guide of the take-up device, the steamingoperation may be carried out with relatively little deviation of thethread.

If desired a ring twisting device may be used in which case the threadpasses through the thread member and is steamed on its way to thetwisting spindle. The thread is thus twisted while under the influenceof steam.

One construction according to the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in

which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of apparatus for steaming yarn whileinserting twist therein;

.Fig. 2 is a cross-section showing the steaming device in greater detailand taken along the axes of the connecting member and the thread member;

Fig. 3 is a'modification of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 2, the steaming device consists of a steam-pipe l ofabout inch bore, into which is screwed a plug 2 having a channel 3 forthe passage of steam and a filter 4 of wire gauze to prevent passage ofrust and other solid matter. Screwed into the plug 2 is a second plug 5,to which is soldered a copper connecting tube 6, having a length of 1%to 3 inches and an internal diameter of about 1 inch fitted with coolingfins 1. Passage of steam from the steam-pipe l to the connecting tube 6is controlled by means of the adjustable needle 8 mounted in the plug 5and seating in the hole l2. A copper tube 9, having a length of about 3inches and an internal diameter of inch is soldered onto, the end of theconnecting tube 6 at right-angles thereto and permits of passage oftravelling thread through the steam supplied to it from the steam-pipe lby way of the needle valve 8 and the connecting pipe 6. Porcelaincollars I0, II are provided at the two ends of the copper tube 9 toreduce chafing of the thread in entering and leaving the tube.

Fig. 1 illustrates an arrangement suitable for steaming yarn whileinserting twist therein. Yarn 20 is twisted as it is drawn off, througha floating ring 2|, from a bobbin 22 mounted on a vertical spindle 23,as is more fully described in Patent No. 1,784,581. The yarn leavingthe, twisting device is passed direct to the lower end of the verticallydisposed copper thread member 9 of the steaming device illustrated inFig. 2 and described above, the porcelain collar ll thereof beingarranged vertically above the spindle 23 and thus serving as a threadguide for the twisting device. The steamed and twisted thread emergesfrom the steaming device at H) and is taken up by a suitable windingdevice (not illustrated) as described in Patent No. 1,784,581 above.

The steam-pipe is provided with a plurality of steaming devices, asillustrated and described above, spaced along its length, the lower end.of each thread member 9 being similarly vertically disposed over thespindle of a twisting device as described above.

Fig. 3 illustrates an arrangement similar to .that or Fig. 1, butmodified by the provision of an Treatment 01' yarns of viscose silk inthis way permits of the production of materials of increased tenacityand crping power. The apparatus may also be employed in the stretchingof travelling threads in the presence of wet steam, by the processesdescribed in British Patent No. 438,584. Such a stretching may, forexample, be carried out while. inserting in the threads a comparativelylow degreeof twist, say under 10 turns per inch, for example 2 to 5turns per inch.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patentis:-'-

1. Apparatus tor steaming travelling textile filaments and threads,comprising a steam supply chamber, a hollow thread member for passage orthe material to be steamed, a connecting member joining said steamchamber to said thread mem her, and means adapted to cool steam passingthrough said connecting member and to ensure in said thread member asupply of steam cooled to saturation.

2. Apparatus for steaming travelling textile fllaments andthreads,comprising a steam supply chamber, a hollow thread member for passage ofthe material to be steamed and, joining said steam chamber to saidthread member, a connecting member comprisinga tube having walls ofmaterial of good thermal conductivity and having sufflcient surfaceexposed to the atmosphere to ensure in the thread member a supply ofsteam cooled to saturation.

3. Apparatus for steaming travelling textile filaments and threads,comprising a steam supply chamber, a hollow thread member :tor pae ofthe material to be steamed, and a tube connecting said steam chamber tosaid thread member, said tube having a constriction at a point in itslength spaced apart from the thread member.

4. Apparatus for steaming travelling textile filaments and threads,comprising a steam supply chamber, a plurality of hollow thread membersfor passage of the materials to be steamed, and a tube joining eachthread member to the steamsupply chamber, said tubehaving a constrictionat a point in its length spaced apart from the thread member.

5. Apparatus for steaming travelling textile fllaments and threadscomprising a steam supply chamber, a hollow thread member for passage ofthe material tobe steamed, and, joining said steam chamber to saidthread member, a connecting member having, adjacent to the. steamchamber, an adjustable constriction and comprising a liong tube of smallcross sectional area adapted to cool steam passing therethrough and toensure in the thread member a supply or steam and moisture,

6. Apparatus for steaming a thread during the insertion of twisttherein, comprising a hollow thread member for the passage of threadundergoing twisting, a steam, supply chamber, a con-' necting memberjoining said steam chamber to said thread member, means adapted to coolsteam passing through said connecting member and to ensure in saidthread member a supply of steam cooled to saturation, and a twistingspindle arranged to insert twist in the thread while the latter is'underthe influence of the steam in the thread member.

" 7. Apparatus for steaming a thread during the insertion of twisttherein, comprising a twisting spindle, a tubular thread member for thepassage of thread undergoing twisting by rotation of said spindle anddisposed substantially coaxially with the spindle so that twist isinsertedwhile the thread is in the thread member, a steam supplychamber, a connecting member joining said steam chamber to said threadmember, and means adapted to cool steam passing through said connectingmember and to ensure in said thread ,member a supply of steam .cooled tosaturation.

rmmar DREYFUS.

